Translated by J Webley.
This game was published in the UK as Comings and Goings and in the US as Vanished.
A rapid memory game for 2-6 players from 8-99 years old.
Paternoster, a church game? but no! The word play on the old style lift system and the priest is only a background for a fun game about some odd types. They are travelling in a paternoster and continually change their positions. So the passenger order isn't always the same and remembering where they all are will really strain the players' memories.
The players try to be the first to get rid of their passenger cards. Every time that the Paternoster figure arrives next to one of the face-down cabins of the lift-system, the player must guess which passenger is in that cabin. Correct guesses allow the player to get rid of the relevant passenger card. Tempo chips allow further tactical moves to be made, but the real way to win is to have a good memory.
Each player takes a set of the 9 passenger cards. All the players have the same set of passenger cards, only the pattern on the back of the cards is different, and that's just to make the sorting easier. Excess sets of cards can be discarded.
If you haven't played before, you should now compare cabin cards and passenger cards so as to know which passenger belongs with which cabin.
The 9 cabin cards are now shuffled and laid out face down in two rows as shown in the diagram at the foot of page 2. The paternoster figure is placed opposite the gap in the rows as shown.
The first person to grab the die starts. They throw the die and move the paternoster figure around the cards in a clockwise direction. Each card corresponds with one point on the die. At the end of it's move the figure stands next to one of the face down cabin cards.
All the players now guess which passenger belongs to that cabin. They say this out loud and at the same time put down a passenger card face downwards out in front of them. Now the cabin card is turned over. Players should make their guesses loud enough that all can hear. The decision to say who you really think is there, or to attempt to confuse the other players by giving another name is up to you. If a player has made a correct guess then they may lay that passenger card down onto a discard pile. If the guess was wrong then they take the card back into their hand. The cabin card is now placed face downwards into the empty space, from whence the paternoster figure has come. This leaves the figure once again standing next to an empty space. Now the next player takes the die and plays in his turn. Up to now it's been just a game of luck, but in subsequent moves you should be able to remember the positions of all the passengers. If your memory's not that good then try to concentrate on just 2 or 3 passengers. passenger cards that you've discarded can be used again for subsequent guesses. take the card from the discard pile and place it face down in front of you as normal. If the guess is right then the card is returned to the discard pile and you may take a tempo chip. If wrong however the card must be replaced into your hand.
Tempo chips can be used to increase or decrease the movement of the paternoster figure. Each chip used increases or decreases the movement of the figure by one. As many tempo chips may be used per turn as required. Other players may use tempo chips to cancel out chips played by the player whose turn it is but may not be used to change the die rolls of other players, only to cancel the effects of their chips. By using the chips, you can ensure the movement of the figure to a cabin whose occupant you are sure of.
Paternoster is over when a player discards the last of his passenger cards.
For a simpler version you can put aside one or two cabins plus the relevant passenger cards.
Distributed by the Sumo Rules Bank.